Problems in Cultivation

Problems in Cultivation

"The three types of Dou Qi could influence one another. The Dou Qi that drained away earlier was rapidly replenished because of this."

As expected of Yao Lao, in less than half a day he had more or less figured out Xiao Yan's situation. "A suitable analogy would be three connected ponds, or wells. When one of them was overdrawn, part of the others could be sacrificed to quickly fill the gap."

"For you, it's actually just right."

A Yellow Rank Low Level Qi Method was still far too poor. Its total amount of Dou Qi, quality, recovery, and circulation speed were all absurdly bad.

With this trait of making up for one another, it could at least patch up part of the shortfall.

But the drawback was that he still had to meditate when it was time to meditate. It was merely equivalent to turning his mana bar into replaceable magazines.

"But you must remember this: the gap between Qi Methods is the first hurdle you face. You absolutely cannot be careless."

When it came to cultivation, Yao Lao was utterly serious, telling him every aspect he could think of. He truly deserved to be called a famous teacher of Battle Through the Heavens.

"Fire-attribute Qi Methods are inherently unstable and scorching, excelling in aggressive offensive power rather than endurance. The Flame Mantra is even more extreme."

"In terms of attack, it may surpass many Yellow Rank Middle Level Qi Methods of the same attribute, but its flaw of lacking staying power is naturally even worse. When you face enemies in the future, you must focus on attacking, swiftly crushing your opponent and ending the battle!"

"If you aren't confident, then conserve your Dou Qi as much as possible, arrange your reserves properly, and set aside enough for the trump cards that can serve as your killing moves."

At this point, Yao Lao suddenly realized something, and his expression grew even more helpless.

Using things like Heavenly Flames was just like using amplification-type Dou Techniques; the consumption was not low.

Add to that the Flame Mantra's high demand for devouring Heavenly Flames...

Uh.

If this went on, Xiao Yan would sooner or later become a three-second man... In ordinary battles, he might have to eat medicinal pills like meals just to keep up with the consumption.

"Senior?"

Xiao Yan felt rather uncomfortable under that strange gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just think you can try linking the three clusters of Dou Qi together." Yao Lao coughed dryly a few times and shifted his gaze away, but the suggestion he gave was indeed feasible.

"I tried that before... But aside from the amount of Dou Qi suddenly exceeding my control and draining away wildly, there was nothing special about it."

As if making an auxiliary demonstration, Xiao Yan urged the three clusters of Dou Qi to circulate through his meridians.

In an instant, the three waves of Dou Qi from different attributes suddenly became "one."

"Seven Star? But it's weakening so quickly... In just a few moments, it's dropped to Six Star."

Yao Lao widened his eyes and stared carefully.

In his perception, Xiao Yan's aura, which had been three clusters stuck together, fused into one and leapt straight to the realm of a Seven Star Dou Shi.

The golden airflow even burst into radiance. With his chest as the center, patterns appeared and climbed up to his face, while his mouth, nose, and eyes all carried a faint golden glow.

His blood energy surged and steamed, like a human-shaped torch in Yao Lao's perception. The rising qi and blood was not much inferior to that of a Magical Beast.

"Shhh—"

Only after it had fallen all the way to around Three or Four Star did the loss of Dou Qi slowly ease, returning to Xiao Yan's control.

"That's how it is. From the start to stabilization takes about ten breaths. The stable period can last a long time, but replenishing the emptied Dou Qi is a bit slow."

As Xiao Yan spoke, he pointed to his temple. "If I use Soul Power to control it, I can fire out all the uncontrollable portion in one go. Its power is basically equivalent to a Seven Star's desperate strike."

"Control, recovery methods, effective utilization, soul techniques."

Yao Lao spat out four terms in succession.

"These are the areas you currently lack the most, and they're all things that require time and sheer effort to grind out."

He hit the nail on the head.

Xiao Yan had naturally discovered these problems as well, but he simply had no suitable method to train them.

"Let me think... Don't you have a special cultivation art? The one you used earlier to fill the Dou Qi vortex."

Yao Lao recalled everything that had just happened. "Try connecting it with the Flame Mantra. I'd also like to see what is so special about that method of yours."

"But my control can't reach that level..."

Xiao Yan was somewhat helpless.

If he could do it, he would have started right away.

"No matter. Just do it first."

"All right..."

Sitting down to meditate once more, Xiao Yan began reciting the Nameless Incantation. Strange ripples surged out wave after wave with his soul as the center, while energy that was difficult to perceive continued to accumulate.

This Soul Mantra is rather interesting.

The first thing Yao Lao noticed was the effect of the Soul Mantra.

His previous perception had not been clear enough. Now, standing in front of Xiao Yan, he could finally sense the strangeness of the incantation.

Its efficiency is very low, and its effect is poor too. Forget calling it a damaged spirit-drawing art—even in a complete state, it wouldn't be very useful... but...

The problem was, this thing only required him to recite it.

Even if one's Soul Power was weak, as long as they settled their mind and repeated the process over and over, it would still take effect and strengthen the soul.

The entry threshold was so low it was practically outrageous.

"This kid really picked up a treasure..." In just half a day, the surprises Xiao Yan had brought him made Yao Lao feel as if he had lived all these years for nothing.

The last time he had felt this way was because of that child.

"..."

Han Feng...

All of a sudden, Yao Lao's figure seemed to grow a shade more aged.

Not even in his dreams had he imagined that the child he had poured everything into raising and cherishing would turn on him over a dangerous cultivation method whose feasibility was unknown.

And he had even done it with killing intent filling his heart.

Looking at Xiao Yan before him, this youth was far younger than Han Feng, even more talented, and even possessed more ideas and decisiveness...

Would he become another Han Feng?

"Heh—" The old man laughed for no clear reason.

What room did he have left to retreat? Since he had already placed his bet, there was no reason to get cold feet at the critical moment.

Looking at Xiao Yan again, his body was already a complete mess.

Circulating the Flame Mantra itself was not difficult, but once he pushed his qi and blood along at the same time, the difficulty instantly ramped up.

The surging, roiling energy stirred his meridians into unrest. A highway that should have allowed for smooth driving had abruptly turned into off-road racing, and he could barely keep control of the direction.

His internal organs were an even bigger problem.

Connecting the golden airflow with his qi and blood was almost too easy; adjusting his breathing and circulation, then using the heart to push it along, was enough to solve it.

But true qi plus blood, while the internal organs had their own rhythm, kept frantically knocking at the main base of Dou Qi in the meridians—the Dantian—giving off quite the charm of a night visit to Chengtian Temple.

The steadily rotating cyclone began to grow unstable after only a few moments.

"Do not resist it. Let the Dou Qi you absorb and circulate cooperate with your qi and blood. Start with the Small Intestine Meridian..."

Yao Lao's voice came from the depths of his soul. Xiao Yan's heart steadied, and he slowly adjusted according to the guidance.

Cultivating Dou Qi itself, to put it plainly, was tempering, purifying, and marking it as one's own.

The Heaven and Earth Energy absorbed into the body was run through different meridians within the body, filtering out the attributes one wanted. It felt somewhat like a conveyor belt passing through a metal detector.

At the same time, compression took place during circulation—the meridians, body, and mind worked together, like passing it through rollers, shaping the Dou Qi into one's own form.